Low end casual gaming

[Alexdiaz]

I have a build here. I got it from http://youtu.be/sSYTMhDoMS8 . I want to know from you guy if it's enough to play source games, minecraft, Skyrim, and Dota. I know I will be able to upgrade the ram the 8gbs of 1866 in the future. I'm wanting to know if it can play casual games at low setting while recording. I would like to start a YouTube channel with this PC.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/D4XBhM

 

[jaraldo]

If all you have is $220 then that's what you get. I'd suggest you save a bit more, but that's up to you.

There is a possibility it would play what you want on low/medium settings, not sure.

I switched the PSU to something at least with ok quality; Raidmax is pretty bad.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A4-6300 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-S1 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($34.69 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman ZM-T1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($32.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $220.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

[rhysiam]

Yeah, it's pretty tough with that budget.

Jaraldo's recommendation to save a bit more is a good one. The problem with such a limited budget is that at that low end of the market, every extra $ goes a long, long way performance wise. It's also hard to build something that you can efficiently upgrade down the track.

If you really want to start now, honestly, I think you'd be better off getting a reasonable second hand computer and adding a video card. I'm always nervous recommending things of ebay, but something like this would be a decent start:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-DC7600-Tower-Dual-Core-3-4GHz-4GB-Memory-250GB-Combo-Computer-/321069929160?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item4ac14252c8

You could then add a video card, I'd recommend the GTX 750 ti because it should play happily with any powersupply AND, for your case, is compatible with "Shadowplay" which enables recording while gaming and offloads the bulk of the work to the GPU hardware. Basically you get the recordings with a much smaller hit on your CPU while gaming.
This MSI one is a bargain at moment at %30 off after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127784&cm_re=gtx_750_ti-_-14-127-784-_-Product

Just make sure whatever computer you get has at least 4GB RAM and supports full sized PCIe cards... go to the manufacturer website if required.
You may also need to budget for Windows 7 or 8 if the computers only have XP. That wouldn't be ideal!

 

[Alexdiaz]

How much do you think $280 could get me? I'm not into the idea of getting a 2nd hand computer because I've already got a cheap $50 PC and getting parts for it won't be easy at all. Besides I would just prefer to save up a bit more than getting a second hand PC. I also already have a copy of windows so I don't need a budget for it.

 

[jaraldo]

The more common option would be something like this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 370K 4.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-S1 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($34.69 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.91 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $298.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

[Alexdiaz]

Do you think with my build right now, I can play casual games then get a 260x later this year?

 

[jaraldo]

Well, I don't have benchmarks on APUs, but dota 2 is forsure not very demanding. You could get away with low and MAYBE medium at 30fps, but do your research 😛

I know that you would probably have some bottlenecks if you were trying to both record and play a game though.

I know if you saved for $300-350 (more obviously is better!) you could actually have something decent for your needs; they are minimal after all.

 

[Alexdiaz]

Do you think the A8-6600k will be better for what I want? I have some benchmarks here.

http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/AMD+A8-6600K/games

 

[jaraldo]

If I remember right, the combo I had would be better. I can check again though.

I can't find the benchmarks, but the best APU from amd only did like low settings on bf4. I'm sure this one could do at least something better.

 

[jaraldo]

Here is the AMD A10-7850K (the best APU) in BF4
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2014/01/30/amd-a10-7850k-and-a10-7700k-kaveri-review/7
In low settings and overclocked it just barely makes it over 30fps.

Right now it's $170
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-ad785kxbjabox

Based on that, it's hard to say where the A8-6600k would be; maybe 10-15fps on low?
I know you won't be playing BF4 but it's a game with updated benchmarks right now, so it's easier to compare using it.

Here is the 3420 vs AMD APU/CPUs in similar price ranges. The 3240 does better overall.

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/31/AMD_Athlon_X4_760K_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_G3420.html
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/243/AMD_A8-Series_A8-6600K_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_G3420.html

Here is the r7 260 in BF4
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r7-260-review,3736-3.html
It beats the best APU by 30fps at least.

For me, the choice is pretty clear

You could get the athlon 760k if you wanted but consider that the g3240 has integrated graphics incase your graphics card fails for some reason; you can still use your computer. The intel build you can put in an i5 while with the athlon we aren't sure. It's aimed at low level stuff, so I would expect nothing even coming close to an i5 on AMD's side.